LoL : Short Stories
by Brokentimespace
Summary: Anthology of several One-shot about the characters of the League of Legends (the title say it all anyway :p), occasionally contains pairings. Specific warnings before each OS. Random updates ! 6th OS : Ezreal and Vladimir are back !
1. Thorn garden

Hi everyone !

I'm not used to write in English so that fanfic will most certainly contain an insane amount of mistakes and I'm very sorry for that. Scholastic English isn't really suited to write fanfic, but well, I've done my best with what I know.

First one shot, at least two more will come by, one day ^^

This one is centered around **Riven**, although maybe in a light that may be a bit new (don't worry, the other characters have their share of that too xD), so it probably results in OOC moments.

Feel free to leave reviews, commentary or corrections (this text is unbeta'd) !

Please enjoy !

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**Thorn Garden**

'May you live long'

Noxians usually saluted with scorn.

Not Talon.

His tone was surprisingly neutral, even a little kind. Which was weird, considering he was greeting a former Noxian.

We crossed paths, every now and then, either on the Fields of Justice or in the corridors of the Institute of War. While we had little to not influence on our moves in the Summoner's Rift, we were free to do as we pleased, provided we didn't damage anything, outside. And every single time the assassin greeted me, it was during our spare time. Always the same wish, not exactly with a friendly tone, but one that showed he had faith in what saying.

Genuinely intrigued, and still bothered by it, I decided to wait for him after he was called on the fields. I put my broken sword against the wall, leaned against it and let the time tick by. After some time, I heard footsteps coming towards me and try to see if Talon was among them, to no avail. I sighed and waited a little more, eyes closed.

'May you live long.'  
'May you live away from the blades of your enemies.', answered Riven mechanically.

A few quarter of second later, I finally realized what was happening. I straightened my posture and tried not to look too startled. He tilted his head a little, so apparently, it completely failed.

'May I help you, Riven ?'

'I only have one question for you... Why do you keep saluting me ?'

He smiled. I was having a hard time seeing his features under his hood, but his smile seemed sincere. He wasn't mocking me, he was simply amused. I felt embarrassed but I understood his reaction. My question was quite strange, thinking about it. Or at least, it was strangely worded. While it didn't seemed to disturb him, he probably though the place wasn't a good one to talk :

'Do you want to drink something ? The summoning always leave my thirsty.'

The situation was getting weirder with every passing second. He himself seemed quite worried, though I supposed it was because he feared I would misinterpret his intention. I followed him warily at the bar. He took a fruit juice, a little something to eat and went for a table for two. This was awkward, painfully so. I grabbed a drink at random and rejoined him. We sat in silence for several minutes, sipping on our own drinks. He then tore a bit of his bread and broke the silence.

'Want some ?', he saw her hesitate. 'Believe me, it's not a trap of some sort.', she hesitated a little more. 'We are in the Institute, on neutral ground.'

'Thank you.'

Even with the little reminder, I felt ill at ease and took the offered bread with cautiousness. I ate it in silence and he did the same. He almost startled me when he spoke again.

'How was it ?'

'What ?'

'The Ionian campaign.'

The name alone was enough to make too vivid images dance in my head. Frightened screams, painful coughs, air contaminated with the smell of death, chemical ans disease. The soil itself seemed to revolt, reject man's creation. The land would be unfit for human life for several months. I think I almost suffocated back then, and maybe that's what saved me. But I would rather not remember what was suffocating me : the agonizing bodies of my fellow brothers in arms.

I shuddered. It was already too much to remember. Last time I tried to, I got nauseous. The stench never really left my nostrils, nor the petrified expression of the corpses.

'I'd rather not talk about it.'

'It's alright. How about the political situation in Noxus ?'

'You mean... Darius bloody ascension to power ? And Swain crowned Grand General ?', he nodded. 'That axe-wielding guy is a barbarian...'

He fell silent, pondering his next words. I was under the impression he expected me to say something along those lines, but he was still not prepared enough for a come-back.

'Think of a garden, left alone for ten years', he assessed her reaction. 'Wild thorns, weeds and roots have grown undisturbed and invaded the place.'

'Sounds like Zyra, to me.'

'Well... it's almost that, just imagine different kinds of Zyra, like she had sisters, suffocating the small flowers that once bloomed here.'

He seemed quite found of his metaphor and continued. A man, who walked near the garden everyday, suddenly recognized the garden where he used to play back in his childhood. So he decided to take the matter in his own hands and searched for a gardener, since he had no real abilities in gardening. Together, they cleaned the garden. But it was still far for its former beauty. So they searched for young people who had knowledge of flowers in their surroundings. They found someone, recruited him and on their way back to the garden and cast their gaze on a very well kept flowerbed. However, the person that was taking good care of it was very wary. So they only send their newest recruit as to not frighten her and convince her to join them.

'So, you mean Darius is the gardener.'

'Swain will like your intelligence.'

'But if Darius is the gardener, shouldn't you be killed near the moment he cleans weeds ?'

'Good remark. But that would ruin the metaphor, right ? So let's just say I had to take care of the garden and neglected my task ?'

'It'll have to do, I guess. What about Katarina ?'

'She doesn't know yet. Besides, the League is protecting her and her sister. The Du Couteau family has virtually no leader right now, so it's not a threat.'

They had thought everything through. And I could guess they had an informer close to the powerful Noxian family. It bothered me. Noxian were proud, rarely resorted to spying , or at least, that was what I was taught. But I wasn't surprised. When politics when involved, traditions and valors tend strangely to disappear from people's mind.

'And the General ? You are rumored to be very loyal to him, if I recall correctly.'

'I don't feel like betraying him. And my new allegiance doesn't hinder my researches. I think they know it too and expect me to act accordingly if he was to reappear.'

'And you have any ideas of how you'll react ?'

'I'll try to make him join us. And if he doesn't want to, well... Maybe I'll have the opportunity to duel him again and emerge victorious. But I still have a lot of time to think about it, haven't I ?'

He never showed that optimism on the battlefield. Maybe he didn't really had reasons to. But I felt he aspired to a little joy in his every day life and he seemed happy to have someone to talk to, although it was an important conversation. Maybe he would appreciate more light-hearted chatter ?

'I hope you didn't choose the garden metaphor because I'm a girl.'

'Of course not !' He chuckled. 'I have a green thumb.'

'Come again ?' Riven asked. 'One of the master swordsman of Noxus has a green thumb ? How many flowers are there in your garden ?'

'I lost count.', he answered very seriously. 'I can make so many different poisons that I can't even recall.'

I should have expected it, why would an assassin have plants if not to make poisons ? Why would he have confided in me something personal like "I do some gardening, sometimes." ? That Noxian alliance seemed like a big viper nest to me. Yet, it could also be my best opportunity to change my homeland efficiently. Most of the time, the heads of a society are the most difficult to dislodge and thusly hinder its evolution. Were the risks worth it ? I finished my drink and waited several more minutes. As I was about to go, he cleared his throat and started :

'I know our methods may put you off, because I'm an assassin, because Darius is always eager to draw blood, but I believe that in the end, we work for the same goal : restoring Noxus. Riven, would you accept to meet the Grand General ?'

* * *

'Swain, tell me one more time why we need to see this girl ?'

'Because, Darius, I refuse to let Noxian lives between your brother's hand.'

'I don't see any redeeming quality in that girl. She deserted. She betrayed Noxus.'

'That battle was poorly led. Noxus never needed the help of Zaun. The fools in charge of that battle were the one who betrayed Noxus.'

The Grand General quarters were modestly decorated and quite dark, to be honest. They didn't lack any lighting, but the long corridor's hanging were either a dark red or a dark brown. To a stranger, this place would be ominous. But it resembled our homeland with its dark pine forests, swamps, cliffs looming over the raging sea... so I felt at ease here. Talon and I finally reached the massive wood double doors. He knocked and a unclear voice invited us in. The assassin held the door for me and we entered the room. To the left, Darius waited, his hand hovering dangerously over his axe handle. I felt Talon presence behind my right shoulder. And behind the desk, a man whose age I couldn't tell rose, grabbed his cane and limped around the furniture with his tree-eyed blue raven on his shoulder pad.

'Jericho Swain, I assume ?'

'Watch your words around the Grand General, woman.'

'Darius, that wasn't necessary. I'm pleased to meet you, Riven. Talon already explained everything to you, did he ?'

'Yes, he did. But I must warn you. If one of your orders doesn't suit me, I won't obey it. And I won't have a second thought defying you if this happens too often...'

'Is that a threat ?!' asked Darius with indignation.

'Darius, stop this farce at once. As a matter of fact, it is a threat. But she is only following Noxian customs. Please finish your sentence, Riven.'

'If your orders are dubious, I'll defy you. Until then, my sword is at your command.'

The Grand General gave a approval nod. The Hand of Noxus frowned. Talon let out a very discreet sigh. I glanced at the tactician as he retreated behind his desk. He was a secretary bird in a viper nest. He didn't fear any of the snakes individually but knew if they were to group, he might be endangered. So he naturally called a mongoose at his side.


	2. Rum and regrets

Hi everyone !

I'm back for another random OS :p !

This time, the characters are **Twisted Fate **and **Graves** ! Some alcohol is involved, Graves curses a tiny bit and there some implied TfxGraves, so be cautious and read at your own risk !

Feel free to leave reviews, commentary or corrections (this text is unbeta'd) !

Please enjoy !

* * *

**Rum and regrets**

'Hello, Mister Fate.'

'Hey, isn't it Summoner Alicia ? How are you today, sweet lady ?'

'Very well thank you. I wanted to ask you if you were busy tonight ?'

'If you need me by your side, then be assured I'm not !'

'It's not a date, mind you, Mister Fate.' she answered with a giggle. 'Alric and I want to celebrate our graduation as full-time summoners, so we wanted to invite the champion with whom we trained the most.'

'Well, I'm disappointed. But I will come, because you will be there.'

'Thank you, Mister Fate.'

I knew that Alric liked the company of champions who needed assistance in the south-eastern corner of Summoner's Rift. I heard he could coordinate very well with Ashe. In hindsight, it didn't mean she was the one he had trained the more with so I shouldn't have been surprised. I would even have preferred seeing Caitlyn. She was running after me for some mystery about a bandit leaving cards on crime scene. I tried to help her once or twice, because I understood she could make a connexion, but any further questioning ended up with me teleporting away. I couldn't be the only gambler in Valoran, could I ? But instead, I found an callous conman with his red cape, blue shirt, dark brown leather bell-bottoms and matching cowboy boots. Oddly, the double-barreled shotgun he wished he had in hand just so he could tear my head off my shoulders was missing. Malcolm Graves.

We stayed quiet behind our respective summoners, but his eyes were trying to burn a hole in my head. Alicia noticed the tension and asked lowly if everything was alright. I nodded and we got in first. Through my hair, on my neck, I still felt the gunman gaze as I walked in. I took the stool on Alicia's left, as Alric took her right and Malcolm took his. Being a summoner and a League champion made one limit the use of all substances influencing the mind, thus why the bars around the Institute rarely sold alcohol. Or so was written in the League texts anyway. Many summoners and champions actually indulged in a few drinks every once in a while, and with a little more cash, bartender usually found a good bottle of liquor in the counter. Apparently, Graves was a regular and knew the prices by heart. He didn't even try to hide his glass to the summoner's eyes, while I, for a change, obeyed the rules and asked for a soft drink. I chatted with Alicia and Alric while Malcolm stayed at bay, sipping on what looked like whiskey. Typical, one might say. Except he was more into amber rum. I learned it a few months ago when he stormed out of my place after another successful swindle because he had enough of my vodka.

The two summoners engaged in a heated conversation and minutes suddenly seemed to stretch. I turned around, looked around at the other clients. Unsurprisingly, they all wore purple and gold robes from shoulders to toes. Of course, the fabric looked very soft, comfortable, and that purple was vibrant and pleasing to the eye, but it made the woman look as flat as boards. I groaned in disappointment and faced the counter once again. Despite the varnish, the wood kept its mahogany color. A suitable surface to start a game of Klondike. I took one of my deck in my jacket inner pocket, sorted and arranged the cards. The counter wasn't wide enough to play with full suits and more than two sets, but spades and diamond from King to seven would be more than enough. I started over several times because I met dead-ends. I was all out of luck tonight. But as I played, I realized I would really like to meet the manual worker who crafted that counter, because some of my furniture definitely needed some renovating. The bar, for example. I believe I still had that bottle of rum at home. I tried to picture precisely where it could be, but my musings were interrupted by a young man voice.

'Mister Fate, can we switch stools ? You seem bored and maybe Mister Graves would be a better interlocutor.'

He noticed my hesitation. He didn't know. Neither of them knew, because only high-ranking summoners knew. I took a good look at my former comrade. He was slouched over the counter, his index tracing out the top of his glass. Time must have flown much more quicker than I thought. Malcolm was a wistful drunk. Maybe they weren't the funniest to be with, but I preferred that to an aggressive one. He was nigh harmless in his current state, so I agreed to Alric's request, ordered mycards and switched stools. Malcolm didn't even seem to notice. Inside, I was grateful, because he had a really good right hook. I touched my jaw, lost in thoughts. It still tingled, sometimes.

'Thought you had forgiven me for that punch, Fate.'

'I did. Good old times...'

'He is hitting on her, isn't he ?'

'Are you jealous ?'

'Nah, just wondering if all summoners pair up naturally. I mean, is it a rule or something ?'

'I don't think so, but they must spend most of their time together in the Institute, so I guess it helps.'

He groaned. It was the closest thing he could muster to a "you're right". He hated being outsmarted, and it wasn't that hard when he was drunk. It made me smile. I knew him better than anyone. He was my family. Sober, he wouldn't even have allowed me to think that. Drunk, he noticed the sad smile instead. He pushed his glass towards me slowly.

'Get some, I'm done with it.' Graves kept his glassy eyes focused on the gambler. 'Bottoms up ? If I didn't know you any better, I'd say something is wrong. Care to tell me ?'

'I'm getting nostalgic.'

'Get a hold of yourself, Fate.' He lightly punched him in the shoulder. 'I'm supposed to be the remorseful one of us. You are the restless one, always seeking new cons when we were just done with one.'

I used to be insatiable, always willing to gain more. I betrayed, left behind, killed. Malcolm brought me an uncanny stability. His laid back attitude, savoring our successes, his advices to keep a low profile for some time so we won't be suspected right of the bat contrasted and completed my methods. We soon became unstoppable. Up until the point I was tempted with something even your influence hadn't tamed : my desire for magic. At this very moment, nothing mattered more than Prigg's offer. I expected you to hold a grudge against me, as all the others did. I however never expected it to be so personal. We had reached a point where we believed we wouldn't double-cross each other. Under any other circumstances but this one, I wouldn't have. For the following days, I enjoyed what I acquired. And only a long while later did I regretted what I traded it for. Our hideout seemed empty when I got back to it, sometimes. Even rigged card game seemed pointless. So I joined the League. The matches were entertaining. And you joined the League too. I was back to square one when we first met on the field. And to be honest, thinking about the past and seeing you drunk right next to me was slowly walking me back to square one once again. And unknowingly, you dealt the final blow.

'Come on, Jack. Time to get back home.'

My mind kept replaying the sentence over and over. I scarcely heard my first name and for a split second, I wondered if it was really to me he was talking. And "home" ? Where was that ? The Institute ? It had to be the Institute.

'Alicia, we're... Where is she ?' asked Twisted Fate when he did see her.

'They left five minutes ago, Fate. Focus !'

He instantly got up, and though he was a little wobbly, he managed the reach the door without difficulties. I went through it just in time to provide support as he began to tumble on the street. His left arm naturally draped around my shoulders as I came to his side. I did the same across his back and we began walking towards the Institute. It lasted five minutes and I thought he would start driveling.

'Hey, Fate. Why are we walking to the Institute ?'

'Because it is the place where we live most of the time ?'

'Nah, not that, cowboy. Why are we walking there ? You're always jumping around in the fields.'

'Well, I guess I can try to port us to my room. But you'll have to walk the remaining distance to yours.'

I took out a card adorned with a flame pattern and focused on our destination. The cards appeared as usual beneath my feet. I felt Malcolm grip on my shoulder tighten as we seemingly fell through the ground. I was used to it, but I never had a passenger with me. And I had been too thrilled the first time to be afraid. Our feet met the floor again and I waited several seconds for Malcolm's reaction. He let go of me and I heard him shuffling afterwards. With a flick of the wrist, the card I saved produced a small flame. I lit up the room around us, but Malcolm didn't care about that. He simply wanted to see my face enough to throw my hat away and glare at me. He wanted to do something, though I didn't know what. It worried me. He then angrily spat :

'Damn you for looking like a girl when I'm smashed.'

He turned around and somehow made his way to the door without hitting anything, at a steady pace. I assumed he would find his way back to his room safely, so I put out the flame and plopped down on my bed. That was why even as accomplices we never got drunk at the same time. It happened once, and it had been enough to leave an imprint in our minds. I touched my lips, lost in thought. It still tingled, sometimes.


	3. Bloody Ruins

Hi everyone !

Here comes a longer OS, dedicated to Idiot Anonymous ! Seriously, check his/her last piece, it's long but it totally worth it !

For the few who don't know Idiot Anonymous or didn't guessed already, this OS is about **Vladimir** and **Ezreal** ! It might be lightly gore but don't worry, there's nothing too graphic since I'm not into gore at all D:

I'm terrible at ending my OS lately, so don't worry if the ending is unsatisfying, you may not be the only one to think that !

As usual, feel free to leave reviews, commentary or corrections (this text is unbeta'd) !

Please enjoy !

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**Bloody ruins**

'Before we even start, why would you seek my help, while you're always saying you hate Noxians, hum ?'

'It's simply a joke, don't get so worked up over it.'

I groaned. That was a reason. Not a good one, though. No matter how I looked at him, that boy seemed pesky, and probably nosy as well. Not very tall, filthy goggles amidst his messy blond hair, with his leather jacket shoulders covered with a thin layer of dust and torn up pants, Ezreal definitely looked to me like someone that couldn't be trusted. That childish spark in his bright blue eyes left me with the feeling he was up to no good. Yet, he had been looking for me, while everyone else carefully avoided me, so for know, the young man had my attention. However, if he didn't become serious soon, he might not have it any longer.

'What do you want from me ?'

'Show me the ruins where you became an hemomancer.'

I had to laugh. And I had a very thunderous laugh, which startled most of the other people in the bar, but not the man sitting in front of me. He had done some researches. Admirable, regarding the reduced numbered of texts about our art or the number of known hemomancers. Even Dmitri didn't know many hemomancers before he met me : his own master and a fleeting other person which he probably consumed himself during his formation. I would be curious to know how he heard about us, and our ruins. But was he for this sole motive worth an entry fee ? Of course not.

'I hope you have something else to offer than just trying to impress me because you heard a few rumors.'

He frowned. He should have expected me to play hard to get.

'I already arranged everything with the Institute. You won't be able to be summoned for the next week, starting tomorrow.'

'You simply expect me to follow you around because you took care of the paperwork for me ?'

'Well, to be honest, I want you to guide me, not to follow me around.'

'Don't push your luck.'

He crossed his arms. His pulse was surprisingly steady and calm, like my threat didn't have the slightest effect. My initial curiosity was slowly shifting into a more irritating feeling. Something about that young man was disturbing me. I couldn't pinpoint what yet. I wasn't one to yield, but I couldn't let that nag me all week long, could I ?

'I'll guide you there.'

'And your compensation ?'

'You are a very peculiar man. And by peculiar, I mean stupid.'

'It wouldn't be fair if you didn't get anything in return, don't you think ?'

Was that Ezreal Demacian ? I almost wanted to choke him with his own kindness. But I guess I could make an effort if I could benefit from his expedition as well. I still had to find how, however. I may have appeared perplexed, yet he seemed rather relaxed all of a sudden. He rose quickly and ordered something that plastered a mocking smile on the barman's face. The explorer came back as quickly as he left, with a pinkish beverage in hand. He took a sip with an amused glint in the eyes. He kept the glass close to his lips, until he couldn't hold back his laugh anymore. The white mark above his upper lip left next to no doubt about the glass' content.

'If you're so curious, why don't you taste some ?'

'Curious ? You're the curious one here. You are in a bar in the suburb of Noxus and you ask for some milk ?'

'Some milk with strawberry syrup !'

That had to be the most absurd and asinine words I heard from a person older than fifteen. Wait, was he really older than fifteen, anyway ? I suddenly highly doubted it after a good look at his youthful face. And seeing him gulp down the remaining drink at unhuman speed only reinforced that intuition.

'Do you have anything to pack before we go ?'

'As long as I have a living being I can draw blood from, I can go wherever I please.'

'We're leaving now, then !'

'The sun is down, you don't have any exploring equipment nor supplies. Where do you think you are going ?'

'To the ruin where you became an hemomancer.'

'What did I got myself into ?' Thought Vladimir.

And we indeed left, under the black shroud of night, the boundaries and frail light of the city quickly disappearing behind us. For someone with such a slim build, Ezreal was for sure full of energy. I gave him directions and he would always be ahead, although I was supposed to guide him. As we headed south, the surroundings began to dry and the scenery slowly changed to an ochre plain. The Great Barrier showed its first peaks with the rising sun. The last villages in the area could be our only way to get some food. And I wasn't taking a day long walking journey without something to eat. Hopefully, he figured it out by himself and packed several canteen of water. He gave me one before we resumed our journey and told me I could take another whenever I needed it. Thinking about it, it was his responsibility to buy everything we would need, yet I couldn't help but be astonished by the easiness he had to give the goods which he paid for.

'We won't be leaving until dusk. As long as you don't kill people, I guess we can stay around the village. I'll take a nap somewhere, and maybe we'll lunch afterwards. How does that sound to you ?'

So that guy knew killing people and emptying them of their blood was almost a hobby to me.

Still, he was traveling with me, on his own, to a place no one really knew about, in the middle of nowhere.

And he just left me, in a poorly defended village, that no one in Nexus has probably ever heard about, telling me he would sleep a bit, thus leaving me without proper surveillance and the perfect occasion to end his life.

That guy had serious guts. Or was completely insane. Maybe both.

He probably was insane, though.

And still, something else in him was bugging me. Something I couldn't place just yet, but involving more than simply being annoyed with him.

I kept a safe distance between the villagers and me, simply watching from afar. Seeing people chat, laugh, play together was alien to me. I was convinced I should envy them, yet I felt nothing. Not even the will to find a kin. It was like we were on different planes of existence : we saw each other, but weren't concerned by what happened to the other. It was boring, actually. So I searched for the crazy man who brought me here in the first place. He was soundly asleep, in the shadow of a massive rock. He wouldn't even notice if I pricked him and drew blood. And indeed, he didn't. I examined the droplet I extracted from him. It was a rich crimson, but it had otherwise nothing noteworthy. In spite of that disappointing conclusion, I would have experimented further if he hadn't woken up. He rubbed his eyes, stretched, looked at me with sleepy eyes, stretched again, waved his hand at me and began rummaging through the bag. He got a sandwich out and closed the bag. As he was about to take his first bite, I cleared my throat. He turned towards me with his mouth half-open. Our eyes met. His seemed a little tired, but genuinely confused. I almost heard the cogs turn in his brain as he tried to make some sense out of our situation. Finally, everything clicked.

'Is there a misunderstanding, Vlad ?'

'I can sustain on blood if needed, in the direst situation. I still need to eat.'

'I stand corrected. Take this one, I'll go buy some more.'

He checked his jacket's breast pocket, leaving me head-to-head with the piece of food he had tried to eat but a couple of seconds before. I had second thoughts. An half would have been sufficient. I felt neither tiredness nor regret had clouded his judgment. He intended to give me the whole sandwich. Because he somehow didn't fear me, or at least, that was what I believed. He came back as I was slowly munching on my second mouthful, pensive. He sat with a sigh and ate happily.

'Hey, are you from Demacia ?'

'I'm from Piltover. Why Demacia ?'

'Because of your artlessness. And your ever-smiling face. And your childish behavior. You lack some hextech or mechanical enhancement for a Piltoverite.'

'Well, I'm not interested in technology, much to my parents disappointment. Besides, who needs hextech when you have such an awesome glove !'

He paused a moment to show me the shining gem set in a silver bezel on the back of his hand. It diffused a cyan light, obviously of magical nature. It was relaxing to look at. In the back of my head, however, I was alert. The thing that intrigued me was getting closer. I dismissed the glove immediately, as I would have reacted more strongly if it was. Ezreal noticed my disturbance and thusly, his expression went from proud to surprised. When he saw no additional reactions, he simply resume eating. We finished a little before sunset and consequently left.

With long strides, we reached the temple, encased in the mountain, by the afternoon of the next day. Ezreal became ecstatic and began running for the door as soon as the building as in his line of sight. He lost his momentum when he saw the corpses. To be honest, the scene was rather nauseating. The dry biome as well as the obvious lack of blood had limited the putrefaction, but the dead bodies were nonetheless in a very bad shape. Some necrophagous birds had ripped off the remaining flesh, leaving the bones at the mercy of the hot winds, slowly gnawing at them. The intrepid explorer seemed a lot more careful, suddenly. Colors had drained from his face, and I honestly wondered if he was going to make it to the temple's stairs. As I walked, one of the corpses caught my attention because it gave off a strange vibe of familiarity. I crouched next to it and recognized my first victim when I officially an hemomancer. I poked at his right cheekbone with the tip of my claw, out of morbid fascination. A wicked smile barely got the time to stretch my lips before my traveling companion snatched me by the arm and led me all the way to the stairs.

'You can't do that ! Show them some respect !'

'Haven't you noticed they're all exsanguine ? Whose work could that be besides ours ?'

'It still isn't a reason to defile their dead bodies ! Come on, let's get in.'

We climbed the stairs at a slow pace. Him probably because he still needed some time to calm his stomach, me because I saw images and spoken words flashing through my mind. They didn't make any sense to me but when we stopped by the door, or at least where the door was supposed to be, Dmitri's words became clearer in my mind :

_'Only Hemomancers can enter the temple. I shall teach you outside until you can change into a puddle or mist.'_

Only then did I discerned the small aperture at the bottom of the wall. As Dmitri once told me, it was barely higher than a half-centimeter and wider than three. Unless Ezreal had the ability to shrink, he would have to return to Piltover empty-handed. He was already feeling the wall, probably for a button. He moved back and considered the building side as a whole.

'How thick is the wall, Vlad ?'

'You won't be able to destroy it with your shiny glove, believe me. I would say... seven to ten centimeters.'

'That isn't what I intended to do. Any obstacles behind ?'

'Everything is flat inside, yet the ceiling could have caved in since the temple is abandoned. I'll check inside and come back.'

'Vlad, just get in, I'll be right behind you.'

I hated trusting someone. His resoluteness left me no other choice, however. My body began to melt, my skin for an instant keeping the primordial soup of cell I became trapped inside before it combined with it, and my clothes followed suit. It used to be horrendously painful. And even horrendous or his friend excruciating were deficient words to describe the pain. Sentience was hard to maintain in this form, but I only used it for several second at best. I sneaked in the opening and reformed on the other side. The first time I managed to change into a pool, Dmitri had looked at me, and said with his hard tone :

_'You need a strong sense of self to reform, Vladimir.'_

Of course, at that time, it didn't really made any sense. I finished my training, absorbed my master and suddenly, I had to fight several spirits tearing my mind apart when I tried to regain a body. Some of the most stubborn still try to come back to life to this day, which amazed me more than the ability I had to put every organ in its right place without a chart to show me where they were supposed to go. Those details aside, I waited for Ezreal to show me its magic trick. A dot of yellow light appeared, flashed and the explorer simply stood in its place when the light dissipated.

'Looks like your masters didn't expected short-range teleportation when they enchanted the place.'

He sounded rather serious and knowledgeable about enchanting. And then...

'Man, that place is huge ! Look at those engravings ! And the stairs ! Where do they lead to ? Vlad ! Vlad ! Tell me !'

He lost it. Completely. His glove was providing light and his ravenous eyes began charting the entire place, incessantly switching between walls to scribble something on a notebook and I feared he might fall down the stairs since he was running around like he would die if he stopped. I went after him to retrieve the supplies and busied myself on the ground floor. Seeing it littered with rocks somehow made me somehow sad. Sometimes, the blond would came back, drag me to a door and ask with childish excitement :

'What is there behind ?'

Often, the rooms were empty, dusty and uninteresting. Never did it deterred him to continue his exploration. By the end of the first day, he was spent, happy, and had a detailed map of the whole temple. He wolfed down his sandwich, made himself comfortable against a rock with a blanket and slept. I should have done the same. His glove suddenly became alluring. It was calling out to me. I got it off his hand with ease, without waking him. I held it close to my face, examining it in the dim moonlight. Everything happened like the tear of blood I took from him. It seemed interesting at first but I realized it was yet again not what I was looking for. Irritated, I gave the glove back to its owner and sat next to him. I should have expected he would move in his slumber. Yet, I couldn't explain how he managed to sleep with his back resting against my shoulder, nor how I didn't woke up when he shuffled. I hoped I could have moved him away from me before he woke, but I had no such chance. Thankfully, he didn't even seem to realized. His enthusiasm had subdued leaving in his wake only a sober and scientific interest in the ruins. He took notes in every room he returned to, doodled more precisely some pattern appearing on the borders, completed his map for two straight days. He showed it to him and I realized he hadn't seen the last basement. It was better this way. Dmitri always warned me about this place, saying it contained something unspeakable that even the former masters were forbidden to approach. I strongly believed that whatever was inside, it was dead by now, since not even one of the five last hemomancers opened the door to this room. Thus, I didn't need to tell Ezreal about it. The blond man has grown quiet. I tried to discuss with him when we ate, but he was distant. He didn't seemed hurt, but I saw a lingering feeling in his eyes. And the next day, he finally broke his ice shell, albeit with uneasiness.

'You would tell me if you had decided on a compensation, Vlad ?'

'Of course. Why such a question ?'

'Well, we will probably leave in a day or two. I have some questions to ask you about hemomancy.'

'You're eluding my question, Ezreal.'

'When we were at the village, I remarked I had a small cut on my left forearm. And three days ago, did you do something with my glove ? I mean... we're on our own here, so if something got it off my hand, it's you.'

'I examined it. I still haven't found what deeply disturb me about you. It's not a feeling, it wouldn't nag me as much. It's something far more carnal...'

'Carnal ?'

'As in related to the flesh. Not in the sexual sense. Your blood doesn't have anything special, though. I'm... confused.'

We simply stayed seated in uneasy silence. He interviewed me on subjects like 'How did you became an hemomancer ?', 'How was the training ?', 'Did you lived here ?' ,'Can you tell me about your master ?'. My answer always stayed evasive. He must have figured out I didn't like to talk about me and my life in general. What he probably didn't realized was that I was doing him a favor. I wouldn't even have bothered and killed whomever would have been asking the same question. And I seriously considered killing him when he asked the fated question.

'So you're telling me you're basically the vessel for all the former hemomancers ? Does that make them immortal ?'

'I guess.'

'What is the difference between vampires and hemomancers ?'

'Isn't it obvious ? They're beasts, we are magi. They're savage, we're simply bloodthirsty. We do art, they do massacre.' Stressed Vladimir.

'Tense subject, I see.'

'Of course ! Everyone mistake us for them.' Ezreal seemed rather unconvinced. 'Look, if I were a vampire, you would be in tiny bloody pieces and I would eat you for dinner.'

He quickly stopped asking question after that tame outburst. I though I had vexed him for good when he spend several hours in the lower floors. I felt something dark emerge when he was downstairs. I dismissed it as one of the masters showing me his disapproval of having a foreigner survey the corridors. I couldn't care less. He was harmless compared to pillager or some of Nexus politicians who offered me to buy that place so it could become a kind of hemomancy military school. I would have had happy to serve my country, but alas, that isn't how our path work. You can't become an hemomancer, you're born as one. The only people who entered the temple either were or were future hemomancers. Or were dead. That was the rule. But as the only blood mage left and no one to call me out on that decision, I decided that Ezreal shall be an exception. In hindsight, I had became quite found of him. It showed when he came back from the lower floors white as a sheet. I didn't exactly rush to his side, but his state left me worried.

'I discovered a new basement, Vlad. The door was half-opened. I didn't realized it until I blinked inside. The room was filled with a dark aura yet it was empty. Do you think I released something ?'

'Most likely not. Get some rest for today, I'll see for myself. Unless you're too scared and want me to stay ?'

'Come back fast, please.'

I walked down the stairs until I reached the final floor. Everything was as he described it. I noticed nothing unusual so I came back calmly. Ezreal was eating one of the remaining sandwich with cautiousness, like he expected something to jump from the shadows to slit his throat. He soon after fell into an agitated slumber, which became more peaceful when I sat next to him. The following day, everything was back to normal and dusk rang the end of Ezreal latest expedition. As we were about to go, Ezreal stopped, put the bag on the floor and with his back to me, asked :

'Hey Vlad, to acquire blood, do you kiss, suck or lick ?'

'The only kiss I give is the kiss of Death. I absolutely suck at making friends or relationship in general. And I lick fools with a weird sense of humor.'

'In that case, you may want to take me against that wall. Or on the floor. I don't mind it if you're rough.'

I had my doubt when he first opened his mouth. An intuition. And that was why I snapped early, because I might have been wrong. But the way he had had to sway his hips, coil his arm around my neck like I was his long-time boyfriend, smile and talk to me seductively definitely gave off something was up. I realized it too late. Something stabbed me in the side. Taken aback, I slumped into Ezreal arms, apparently still possessed. He moved his arms around my waist, seemingly lost in that weird fantasy. And suddenly, he threw me on the floor violently and blinked away from our opponent. As I thought, a vampire : a strange hybrid between a massive human and a bat. As large and tall as two men, wingless, a reddish membrane joining his sides and his hairy, muscular arms, his body was covered in gray fur with pointy ears, small murderous blood red eyes and a gigantic maw fit with, among sharp teeth, four canine as long as for my pointer finger. To a mere mortal, it probably was a terrifying sight. Ezreal's adventures gave him more nerves than I gave him credit for. As regards myself, I simply felt a rush of adrenaline. The explorer began unleashing the tricks he used on Summoner's Rift, plus some others that were nothing more than flashy spells to me. As he distracted the beast, I gathered my globe of blood from my fresh wound and concentrated on my next move. Ezreal spells barely scorched the vampire's fur, so I guessed all we had left was to fight fire with fire.

'Ez, get out of here, immediately ! Close your mouth, your eyes and don't touch anything that look like blood !'

He nodded and blinked outside. The vampire instantly focused on me, obviously because it smelled my blood. All I had to do was cut it somewhere and throw some blood in the wound to show it what us hemomancers call the Hemoplague. Not the pale imitation they let me use on the Field of Justice. The real, infectious, rampant, destructive one. I charged, claws shining under the new moonlight. The creature reacted fast enough to dodge my attack entirely. However, rabid as it was, it almost impaled its paw on my claws while trying to slash at me. It simply gashed its palm and I added some blood of my own. It took several second, but his members began to shake violently until he feel on the floor, crying out in pure agony. It coughed blood on the floor for a short time and it seemed some of the crimson liquid made his way to his lungs and simply drown the beast. I absorbed some of its blood and purified the rest before rejecting it on the corpse. I had no use for it, I simply wanted to keep our plague as concealed as possible. Ezreal patiently waited outside, ears against the wall, although he listened to all my other guidelines.

'The beast is no more, Ezreal.'

'I figured out. I wonder what you did to it. It sounded really painful.'

'Believe me, you don't even want to know. Give me a canteen.'

I imprisoned some of the purified beast blood inside. Ezreal deserved a reward. Vampire blood greatly increased sight, smell, and gave night vision for several hours if consumed a single tear at a time. I trusted the explorer to use it responsibly. He seemed reassured to see me in a single piece. It made me want to smile. Did I even remember how to do that ? Even if I indeed remember, it wasn't the time to. Concern lingered in my younger companion's eyes.

'You are still hurt, aren't you ?'

'It will eventually heal by itself. Let's go back to Noxus.'

'Wait ! I can heal that. I haven't healed anything for some time but I'm sure I can do it. Please ?'

'Alright, but only this time.'

He boomed with joy and pointed at my wound. A golden energy wave made its way to my side. I felt nothing different for several seconds. Then, I felt like throwing up. My blood flow accelerated around my wound but followed a steady rate everywhere else. When you were used to control every droplet, it was purely and simply nauseating. I fell to my knee, simply waiting for the wound to close up. I was relieved when it finally stopped. I rose, he quickly got back inside to retrieve his bag and we departed. Along the way, walking side by side, Ezreal still appeared bothered. And I had my idea on what was making him tense.

'You remember what you told me when you were possessed, don't you ?'

'I guess it work like any possession and thus you're always truthful in that state ? Well, I think you must look handsome beneath those layers of clothes, anyway. But I'm still sorry for what happened.'

'Keep in mind that they always tend to make their puppets use words that could really work with the person they're trying to lure. Make of that what you want.'

We chuckled. The following silence wasn't as awkward as one may think. It sure wasn't the kind of thing two male friends would say to each other. But we weren't friends. Merely acquaintances. I'll probably never knew what disturbed me so much about him, and we'll probably never meet again outside the Institute. In the end, he got to explore the temple's ruins and got out alive and I got a week away from Summoners and their antics. That time wasn't entirely lost.


	4. Mechanics

Hi everyone !

With this OS, you're in for some **Jayce** and **Vi** and mentionned ViXCait.  
I just hope I butchered no one's personality this time (like every other time :p) !

As usual, feel free to leave reviews, commentary or corrections (this text is unbeta'd) !

Please enjoy !

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**Mechanics**

As usual, Piltover's main streets were bright and clean. It was no surprise, since I was in the higher parts of the city. It would always make me twitch. Of course, ever since Caitlyn became the sheriff, everything is simply a great deal nicer in the lower parts, but I couldn't shake the memories of my birthplace. The infamous hellhole where I got some scares, scars, my tattoo and some tats, my gloves and well... a little grandeur. Those times were gone, but action never really left my life. Especially since I started helping Piltover law enforcement forces. Today however, was my day off. A plain old boring day off. Luckily, I had a special appointment. To be honest, "appointment" was way too formal.

I saw the familiar white steel doors at the far end of the street. The building was quite isolated from surroundings shops and houses, with good reason. Working on hextech required precautions. But I knew the guy inside was a genius and too much of a good guy to make dangerous experiments near living places. I barely poked the door with the tip of one of my gigantic metallic finger and waited for it to open. After a good minute without any reaction, I tried again, with a little more force. I groaned. Every time, he would complain I left a new dent on his door but I wouldn't if he answered when I knocked ! Damn engineer can't even set up a doorbell...

'You don't want me to power-slam your door, do you, Jayce ?!'

And finally, I heard someone rushing up some metallic stairs. The door flurried open, revealing the square-jawed Piltoverite hero, with a soldering protection mask, an apron and brown leather gloves. I let out an audible sigh and walked right past him. The door didn't close right away, and I assumed he was examining his precious door as I joined the lab itself. I took a seat and saw him come back with a thumbs up.

'No dent this time, good job. I didn't expected you that early, though.'

'Cait didn't needed me around anymore. It was a slow day at the office anyway.'

'So, the usual ?'

'Yep.'

He cleared his main worktable and put his mask down, resting against the table's leg. I stretched a first arm out. Jayce took a firm grip on my glove as I let go of the internal locking system. Flesh soon appeared underneath the metal, as my hands seemed to shrink. I kept staring for a split second before we repeated the procedure with my other arm. I always had a weird feeling when I saw my gauntlets on the table. It wasn't like someone had ripped my hands off, but close. All I had left when they were gone were pale skin and pinkish purple neatly manicured fingernails. Those were the hands I was born with, no the ones I could change something with. The man, being his observant self, noticed my bout of trouble.

'Who would have thought you had such cute little hands under those giants gloves ?'

'Who would have though you would need such big hands to wield such a... small weapon', she teased while looking at his crotch.

'Please, Six, that's just mean !'

We shared a good laugh. Jayce was an older brother to me. He always had a little time to spare if my gloves needed some reparations, or if I needed some advices or to be cheered up. And here he was, checking every phalanx one after the other while speaking what was technological gabble to me. I nodded several time in the middle of some of his sentences, just to show him how I perfectly understood what he was saying. He eventually took notice and continued the maintenance with a faint smile and without saying anything. I took the soldering mask and sat down in front of the other table, across the room. I took the soldering iron in hand and began analyzing the carcass. Hopefully, Jayce always left his plans lying around. When he heard the light shuffling of paper, the hextech engineer turned around, and then threw me his leather gloves.

'You wouldn't damage your new polished nails, hum ?'

'Thanks.'

After several minutes to understand my friend small handwriting and sketches, I began assembling the metal scraps. I was often told I had some talent when soldering, that it would have been better if I made it my job but I honestly liked smashing faces way to much to actually do that. However, it never deterred Jayce from exploiting shamelessly that secondary skill. I even lend him a hand with his famous Mercury Hammer. If you knew where to look, you could see the irregular weldings next to the perfectly straight pieces, and he never let me redo them, because he felt it made it more unique. As I was about to conclude on how Jayce was a sentimental guy, I distinguished a new engraving at the top of the welding iron. Two letters. That guy was just so much of a sentimental... I tried to get back to work, but I felt a poke between my shoulder blades. That meant it was time for some black coffee ! I followed the man upstairs and we settled down around steaming cups. Jayce's coffee was so black it speaks on its own of many sleepless nights. But it was how I liked it anyway.

'So, how is it doing with Caitlyn ?'

It may sound like idle talk about work but we both knew it wasn't. I was very found of Caitlyn, too much to be only a friend. We were from very different social background, we had so different personalities, though... She was all incorruptible, nigh coldly pristine, hardworking and sometimes borderline obsessive with her work. Especially that case with the guy who left cards on crime scene. It worried both Jayce and me. When he knew about my feelings towards Cait, Viktor's rival suddenly felt it was my role to help her out of this. I had yet to make my move. And I was very aware that the longer I waited, the harder it would be to help her out of it. But I wasn't very knowledgeable in matter of romance. The only thing I knew to do to a heart was punch it out of its ribcage. And I certainly didn't want to do that to Cait.

'I'm sure she noticed the frills on your right hip.', encouraged Jayce.

'I hope she did, the fabric come from the tailor she got all her dresses from. And believe me, that place is expensive !'

'Well, I guess if you want her to notice your nails, you'll have to take off your dear gloves. I still wonder why it isn't cracked yet, to be honest.'

I wouldn't leave my gloves anywhere but here. Besides, the police station wasn't that far away. Jayce's smile was reassuring. My confidence was slowly coming back. He rose and opened the door of his lab. I gave him a high five on my way out, followed by a thumbs up and a wink. Maybe if a sprinted, I could be just in time for a cup of tea !


	5. Opal

Hi everyone !

Prepare for some slice of life with **Taric** and **Lulu**. I'll admit this one is maybe even more pointless than the others but oh well, have some cuteness in your WE ! On a side note, I quite wanted to make Taric a "credible" character, 'cause I really like this guy, I just hope it worked !

**Guest** : Thank you for the review ! =D

**Victor** : Thank you too :3 !

As usual, feel free to leave reviews, commentary or corrections (this text is unbeta'd) !

Please enjoy !

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**Opal**

Small steps in the gravel. A 'Thank you, Mister summoner !', then a child laugh and a faint magical presence. Sounds like someone is back from the Institute. I put my knife down. The fruit salad could wait five more minutes. I wiped my hands clean and headed towards the entrance. The door opened, letting in a small sorceress, whose hat was almost larger than her, and her shiny companion.

'Taric ! Taric ! I'm home !'

'I see that, Lulu. Welcome.'

The young yordle rushed into my arms as I knelt. We shared a short hug and she quickly made her way to the couch. I heard her chatting with Pix as I chopped small piece of fruit and even smaller ones for the fae. Soon enough, the little girl came, moved a chair and jumped on it to see what I was doing. She was at a safe distance, but I didn't like it when she was standing on a chair. I gave her a smile and she understood. She sat but seemed to be bored.

'Do you remember where the sugar is, Lulu ?'

'Of course !'

'Fetch it, we'll get some water.'

I took out a scale, its weights, a mixing bowl, a large glass, a ramekin, a wooden spoon and my bottle of cherry syrup. I brought everything on the coffee table and took Lulu to the well. She gave the bucket to me and took the rope in hand. She pulled with all her strength but I had to help her bring it back, and we got back inside. I placed the weight on the scale, so Lulu would simply have to measure the right amount of sugar, after I emptied the bucket in the basin in the kitchen. I poured three glass in the mixing bowl and gave the next instructions to the young girl. I watched over my shoulder as she was dedicated not to make the syrup overflow and to find the perfect balance with the sugar.

I felt like a single father sometimes. Not that it was unpleasant. Besides, Lulu really needed it. Alienated by her kin with no family left and a little defective sense of reality. Probably welcomed by the League because she had nowhere to go and was too young to live on her own. However, allowing her on the fields of justice was according to me a mistake. Of course, her birth date indicated she was way older than most of the champion of the League. But she was maybe eight years old at best ! The Field where sometimes a frightful place to be, even for adults. When I thought about it, I always had a sour taste in my mouth. A found a little consolation that the League allowed some of us, including Sona, Tristana, Janna and Teemo, to become her guardians. She had made some friends, like Annie, Nunu. I even heard about her crush on Veigar, although that little guy only sounded like troubles to me. We were uncle, aunts, friends, not parents, nor a real family, but we all contributed to her personal equilibrium. She would always remain playful and eccentric, as were most of the Yordles. She simply had a little of innocent madness thrown in. And her heart was as big as her hat, so everything should be alright for her.

'Uncle Taric ? I did what you told me to !'

'Good, can you bring the bowl ? The fruits are almost ready. Oh, Lulu ?' he called.

'Yep ?'

'You can add one more handful of sugar if you want.'

'You're the best !'

The smile had to be the cutest I had seen since I arrived in Runeterra. She had put her hat on the couch and carried the bowl on her head after throwing the handful of sugar like it was some kind of magic powder. I stirred the juice one last time and kept some in a new ramekin with the smallest fruit pieces. I mixed the remaining juice and fruits, then put the two preparation in the refrigerator. They should be ready for dinner.

'Thank you for your help, Lulu. Will you tell me how was your day at the Institute ?'

We settled down on the couch and she pretended to think really hard about what she was going to tell me, as did Pix. The little fae's wings changed colors and they giggled together. Lulu then told me how she met two new summoners, who were kind to her, and that she also met Annie, although it was on the other side of the Rift.

'You know, I feared that she wouldn't talk to me anymore ! But we're still friends !'

'Did you met someone else that you knew ?'

'I saw the champion that eat everything ! He even tried to swallow me whole !', she saw Taric's worried face. 'Don't worry, I transmogulated him so he couldn't. And they all know the rules well. I had a lot of fun, today.'

I always cringed when Lulu mentioned a Void creature or a Noxian. Not that the others nations representatives were above violence and brutality, but I named the worst offenders. While we simply couldn't put such a severe restriction on Lulu's opponents, we at least got to spare her from the artificial death she could have experienced on the Fields. When the pain became unbearable or she was about to suffer a lethal injury, Pix had the responsibility to shrink her Yordle friend until they could both fit in her hat and wait safely until her summoner called them in the fountain. Some accidents did happened the first few times. But now everything seemed in order. The little girl suddenly let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes.

'Do you want to take a nap before dinner ?'

'I'm okay, just a little sleepy...'

'It's okay, I'm also tired after the summoning sometimes. I won't eat the fruit salad without you, promise.'

She finally surrendered and slid off the couch. I took her hand and led her to the guest room. She climbed on the bed, took off her hat and hooked it on the headboard. She also pulled the necklace she had around her neck from underneath her dress. The jewel was round, smooth, a vibrant orange. A beautiful fire opal, framed in a light alloy. Apparently, I was caught staring at the stone, because she covered it with her hands and stuck her tongue out with a giggle. I tickled her as a small revenge and tucked her in when she got under the covers to defend herself. Pix settled down on the pillow and let the light surrounding her die a little. I left the door ajar and whispered :

'Come in the living room when you wake up, okay ?'

She nodded. Her eyes closed gently. She looked so peaceful. In the corner of my eyes, I saw the last ray of light in the room made my gift to her look like a piece of setting sun. An opal, for harmony.


	6. Blood, flesh, marrow

Hey there ! It has been a while, hasn't it ? ^^  
Unfortunately, the next few OS will propably arrive late too, since I'm about to take exams. That little guy was simply sitting on my desktop for quite some times now, better publish it, right ? x)

Besides, I wished I had written on more characters before using some I have already written on, but well... **Ezreal** and **Vladimir** are back ! Since Vlad is here, expect a little gore (once again, nothing too graphic !)... But since Ez is here as well, expect a little lovin' too (nothing too graphic, sorry guys :)

As usual, feel free to leave reviews, commentary or corrections (this text is unbeta'd) !

Please enjoy !

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**Blood, flesh, marrow**

It was weird to dream again. One might argue my brain would always have something to process and show me in my sleep, seeing as I never stayed in Piltover more than a week. Well, maybe I actually dreamed, and I didn't remember it. It was the most logical explanation. So, I corrected myself : 'it was weird to experience vivid dreams that could make me wake up sweaty in the middle of the night'. I would always reach for my forehead, expecting a fever. Instead, as my hand slid slowly down my face and closed my eyes, I saw him, in all his red glory. I came to understand that trying to sleep again immediately after awakening wasn't the best thing to do, because the dream would be back like nothing happened. I set a candle alight on my desk, took out a pencil from a drawer and began doodling the same thing I always doodled when those dreams happened. Delicate features frozen in a light frown, flowing snowy hair, emotionless eyes, slim shoulders, elegant attire ripped straight from horror stories about Vampires. Well, what people called Vampires, anyway. He would bleed me dry if he learned I got confused again. Tonight's drawing was... quite failed, to be honest. But since I already had one illustrating my chapter on Hemomancers, it didn't really matter. I crumpled the paper sheet, aimed at my trash can, missed but got back under the covers anyway.

The morning sun woke me up late. I simply didn't feel like getting up right away. I pulled the covers above my head with a groan and my mind wandered on his own as he usually did after such a night. The first time, I think I was coping with the Vampire attack, because the dream was mainly about that beast. As the dream repeated itself, the focus slowly changed. By the end of the second week, the Vampire had disappeared and I was left with my 'savior'. Classic case of a friendly reminder that I'm liable to him. The occurrences spaced out, but the content became more explicit every time. Don't get me wrong, we seemed to be thoroughly enjoying ourselves and I actually intended to repay my debt, but I didn't think of myself as slutty enough to repay someone with my body ! However, if everything was as promising as it sounded or felt...

'Don't think about it, idiot !'

I knocked my head against the headboard and got up immediately. Maybe it wasn't my most brilliant idea, but now my mind was made up. Since I found no new interesting places to explore lately, since my mind won't leave me in peace, the summoners will have the rare occasion to summon me with my consent !

* * *

Never had I been so wrong.

The day was simply boring, I didn't felt any freer from the tricks my mind played on me, and I felt even my summoners knew something was wrong with me. Let's just hope they didn't find out what was wrong. I was fine with rumors and gossip. Vladimir, on the other hand... I also concluded that the only reasonable option I had to get rid of those dreams where to confront their target. If that perspective alone didn't scream 'Suicide !', I would rather ignore what did.

I made my way to the basement of the Institute, below the Champion's dorm, to the railway station. It was a wonder of hextech technology, entirely automated, serving all the city-states, originating from a collaboration mainly between Zaun and Piltover. The pride of all Valoran. And just as I thought I ran out of luck today, the train heading for Noxus stopped next to its corresponding platform. As I was about to climb in, I suddenly realized I had no valid reason to disrupt the Hemomancer. I couldn't pretend I had some questions left on the temple, because I really had no question left and nothing to take notes anyway. I guessed it was the only reason I would have to come back to him, and I really didn't want to barge in the bar where I found him last time, and said something like 'Hi ! I still owe you ! Want to satisfy some carnal urge ? As in sexual. Not in the related to the flesh sense.'.Worst pick-up line ever. If only I had something to show him, like a picture, or a book or... a book.

'Okay, the train is scheduled to leave in two minutes. Piece of cake !'

Time to let some magic play ! I jumped out of the train and used my inner magic to port across the next rail track. Next obstacle : the stairs. When you knew how to kick a wall and back flip across the railing, it wasn't much of a problem, really. I bumped into two or three person on my way to the Champion dormitory. If I carried on as slowly, the train would be gone before I could lay a hand on my excuse. I suddenly remembered the room neighboring mine in that corridor was vacant. I entered said room, blinked through the wall and met the greatest difficulty of this journey : finding the booklet about Hemomancers. One minutes thirty seconds left. That might become more of a challenge than I expected. I used a little gust of magic to clear the top of my desk and began turning around every remaining book.

'Why the only one with the blood-red cover is nowhere to be seen ?'

Probably because it wasn't with the others. I got a quick look around my room. Nothing in the bookcases, nothing on my other chair, nothing on my bed... And here it was, on my nightstand. That was unusual. No time to ponder on why I put it down here in the first place, though, I only had five seconds left. I couldn't be on time now. Except if I blinked through the floor. I wasn't found of that kind of operation, but I had no options left, did I ? I began rolling in mid-air, let the arcane port me on the other side and slowed down the ensuing fall by sending some magic to the floor, raising a cloud of dust. I heard some mechanical sounds and knew I wasn't done just yet. I turned around and chased the train. I was thankful the engine took his time to start, otherwise one more Arcane Shift wouldn't have allowed me to catch up. I sat so my magic could flow calmly again and enjoyed the underground ride.

Noxus at night was quite worrisome. Especially the suburbs, since they were only moderately lightened up and that district was filled with drunken men once the moon was high. But I didn't intended to stay around long on the streets anyway. I recognized the bar where I found Vladimir the first time and got in. Immediately, I felt eyes on me. Surprised and curious glances were quickly drawn away, but one pair of eyes stayed focused on me, with an intensity that almost made me shiver. I turned to the side like an automaton and reached the Crimson Reaper's table. I took the only other seat, put the book on the table and couldn't utter a word. The barman brought me a glass of milk with strawberry syrup, which surprised me. I stared at the glass dumbfounded until I heard a low chuckle.

'I thought he wouldn't remember.'

'Huh ?'

'The bartender. I'm a regular, and we bet no one will ever sit down more than once at my table. Now, tell me what brings you here.'

I pushed the book towards him. The glass was very nice. The table too. Even my shoes looked quite cool from here. My neck was stiff. I merely saw Vlad leafing through the book. Only when he came to a stop that our eyes could met properly. Something was bothering him, I saw it in his eyes. He lightly tapped the page where he stopped with his finger. Of course, seeing his portrait would bother him. Yet, I had expected a more violent reaction. Instead, he spoke softly :

'Have you drawn this yourself ?'

'Two weeks ago.', mumbled Ezreal. 'When the dreams were getting steamy...', he added in his thoughts.

'Could it be... No, spells are supposed to last this long...'

'The Institute would have noticed. If you talk about the Vampire's spell.'

'I'm not sure. Their magic is ancient and only few magi know about it. Either way, here is not the place and now is perhaps not even the time to deal with this. Drink that nefarious beverage and I'll walk you back to the Institute.'

I did as I was told while Vlad talked in what I recognized as Noxian to the bartender. I caught a word or two, but nothing more. I didn't envisioned the Vampire's magic as an explanation, although it would provide a very convenient one. I would have realized if I was under magical influence, that was what saved him last time. Anyway, Vladimir was right. There was no point in staying here and my little problem would need further investigation. Yet, as we walked in silence in the suddenly empty streets, I thought that maybe the cause wasn't that complex. I was still human, beneath my wanderlust. The silence remained heavy between us has we passed through the railway station then through the Institute's corridors. We stopped at my door. We stood, in front of each other.

'I hate myself so much right now.'

'What for, Ezreal ?'

'An entire month to realize that...', he sighed. 'I can't even say it.'

'So, no Vampire curse, right ?'

He was more perspicacious than I gave him credit for. More comprehensive too.

'I'm sorry.'

'Why ?'

'Because the spring where you want to quench your thirst is forbidden to human beings.'

'Can't I at least dip my lips, please ?'

'Why would you be so cruel to yourself ? You would risk drowning for something that would left your throat dry ?'

That said, he wasn't that reluctant when I took a firm hold in his collar and pulled him down. His lips fell square on mine, half-opened because he was surprised. I worked my lips against his as I dragged him inside and kicked the door closed. By the time I had us both crashed on my bed, with him on top, my tongue had sneaked into his mouth and met a surprisingly enthusiastic answer. I enjoyed it, until he began biting at my bottom lip. It hurt, and he ended up drawing blood. I felt it flow through the wound and my common sense suddenly kicked in. Something was wrong. I placed my hands flat against his torso, waited until his teeth weren't clasping at my lip anymore and pushed him away with a little magic. I didn't really intended it, but he collided rather violently with the opposite wall. He groaned, probably in pain, and rested his palm against his forehead. He was shocked beyond words, but he seemed fine. I got closer after I closed the cut with a little trick.

'That was quick. And unexpected...' whispered Vladimir.

'How do you feel ?'

'Still a little stunned. Are you unconscious ?'

'I hope that wasn't meant as a reproach, because I'm not scared at all.'

'You shouldn't be so careless after what happened.'

'But, Vladimir, what did really happened ?'

He looked like he was perfectly keeping his cool, yet I suspected him to be far more panicked inside. I sat down next to him and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. We still had the night ahead of us. As he reflected, I took in his appearance more closely. He was a magus, he told me so when we were at the temple, so I guess he had nothing like eternal youth because he was an Hemomancer. If that were to be true, maybe our age gap wasn't as wide as I first thought it was. Not that it really mattered to me anyway. No, what really bothered me was how I would explain to my parents that I fell for a blood-manipulating Noxian. But maybe it was a bit early to think about this. It's not like I was in a relationship with him yet.

'So, what's going on ?'

'Well, you see, as I absorbed my master, I absorbed all the masters before me, with their memories. Some of them did fell for someone at one point of their life. They consumed them in a rather... beastly manner during their first night together.'

'Every one of them ?'

'Well, from what I can recall, the last tenth master choose celibacy. I'm rather thankful for that, because the other memories are... gruesome. Skin, blood, organs, flesh, bones, marrow...', he went through one by one with a shiver. 'Nothing left...', he paused. 'It's just like they somehow managed to change the other into a pool, like we do, and... well...'

'You don't no know to do that, do you ?' asked Ezreal, fighting a bout of nausea.

That uneasy silence made me dread the answer. But seeing as he was working rather disturbing things out, it was only natural to give him some time if he needed it. As for myself, I thought I would have been far more crept out by that mean to be one forever with your significant other. Maybe Hemomancer got some leftovers they weren't aware of of Vampire magic. Like soothing their prey before consuming them. Or maybe it was just good old-fashioned trust. I snaked my arm around his and held his hand.

'Consciously, I don't know. But since I had no sex drive since I became an Hemomancer until five minutes ago, who knows.'

'As if I'll let you do what you please with me. I'm a little more feisty than what you might expect.' joked Ezreal.

'I already saw that.' Vladimir admitted with a soft chuckle. 'However, are you in your heart and soul ready to put your very life on the line for something your peer will probably shun you for ?'

I let go of his hand and rose. He had several points. I didn't felt like telling him down on the floor, on his left side. I heard the slightest hint of a renouncement sigh. Did he was doubting me ? Well, my reaction was a bit untimely now that I thought about it. I quickly spun on my heels, took a good hold of his wrists and helped him up, maybe a little against his will. We stood face to face, in an unexpectedly heavy silence.

'If we take it slow, nothing unfortunate can happen, right ?'

'I guess it is worth a try.' He trapped his smaller companion in a loose embrace. 'Ezreal, don't forget to call my name, please.'

'Aren't you a little cheeky asking me that so early ?' the youngest whispered as the Noxian's lips were sliding down his neck.

'Do it, so I can repel them more easily.'

While I thought he asked that out of brashness, the sudden serious tone made me understand that he wasn't fooling around. I cupped his face with my hands, gave him a reassuring smile while staring softly at his blood-red irises.

'I promise it to you, Vladimir.'


End file.
